Nicole Scherzinger originally voiced Sina, Moana’s mother, in Disney’s 2016 animated film ‘Moana’ after reportedly giving a fight to ensure the character stayed in the story.
“Let me tell you this scoop, okay? Nobody’s ever heard of this. I fought to play Moana’s mom, Sina,” the actress revealed during a recent appearance on ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show.’ “I’m returning as Sina in ‘Moana 2.’ But, yo, like keeping it real, I hope I don’t get in trouble by Disney. You know I love you, Disney.”
“A lot of the times, the mothers get killed off, don’t they? In the Disney films,” she continued. “So, they had Moana’s mom, Sina, and then they killed her off. They brought her back, they killed her off, and I was like, ‘Listen. Please, I need to be a part of this.’”
Scherzinger later rejoined Auli’i Cravalho as Moana, Dwayne Johnson as Maui, Temuera Morrison as Tui, Rachel House as Tala, and Alan Tudyk as Heihei for the upcoming ‘Moana 2.’ Newcomers in the cast included Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda as Moana’s sister Simea, alongside Rose Matafeo, David Fane, Hualālai Chung, Awhimai Fraser, and Gerald Ramsey.
The project originally started as a limited streaming series for Disney+. The studio decided to rework it into a theatrical sequel with David Derrick Jr. as the writer and director, by February 2024. The film is now set for release on November 27, 2024.
A live-action adaptation of the original ‘Moana’ is also in progress. Dwayne Johnson is reprising his role as Maui for the 2026 film, but the rest of the cast are replaced. Catherine Lagaʻaia will play Moana opposite Frankie Adams, John Tui, and Rena Owen.
